What jazz are you listening to right now?

[rousseau]

To confuse things further, from the Wikipedia on the album:

Brilliant Circles - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is a consensus among many collectors that the Black Lion CD edition, which includes one bonus track and an alternate take of the title track, was very poorly mastered (with reduced volume in the right channel, resulting in the virtual inaudibility of Tyrone Washington's woodwinds).

I've taken a look at some copies online, but noticed that the vinyl edition is missing the two tracks you mention. I'm still debating whether to buy a hard copy or let Spotify suffice.

Jeez, I'll have to listen to mine more carefully to hear the difference. Mine is a "Freedom" CD, not Black Lion. I wonder if it's remastered or just a copy of the Black Lion.

Ah, I see Freedom was a division of Black Lion. I'll have a closer listen.

Sorry, should have warned you. Do you have a turntable on hand? The record still sounds pretty good regardless, and you get the extra tracks.

You've inspired me to get my own (vinyl) copy, coming from Denmark. The internet makes it way too easy to drop 60 dollars.

 

[Tharmas]

Sorry, should have warned you. Do you have a turntable on hand? The record still sounds pretty good regardless, and you get the extra tracks.

You've inspired me to get my own (vinyl) copy, coming from Denmark. The internet makes it way too easy to drop 60 dollar

No need to apologize. Meanwhile I don't notice "reduced volume" in the right channel. As far as I can tell by ear, it's balanced pretty well. That's only after listening carefully to one track however. It's an interesting problem.

And no, I am not vinyl-capable. I'm one of those cretins who yelled for joy when CDs came out. No more skips and pops and hisses and, at least to my ears, vastly improved sound quality.

 

[rousseau]

As for new jazz, I haven't been on to much interesting lately. I know most of the major players, styles etc, and throw on whatever suits the mood. I have played Coltrane a little more lately, but I'm still not his biggest fan. I've also found myself listening to a little more Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

I had a brief period where I tried to get into modern stuff, but a lot of it's just not my style.

 

[rousseau]

Charlie Parker's Savoy Sessions. I finally picked up Ian Carr's autobiography of Miles Davis, and he had a nice write-up on these sessions. Charlie Parker at his peak, Miles Davis when he was just starting out. The below is one of the first recordings of Davis put to disc. His solo isn't great, but you can see elements of who he would be later in there. I actually have a vinyl edition of the sessions, purchased way back in the day.

Apparently Thelonious Monk was supposed to play keys but never showed up. Dizzie Gillespie 'comped' on piano (filled in, but couldn't solo), but he doesn't appear on the record sleeve because the label didn't want to pay another musician.

 

[Tharmas]

Charlie Parker's Savoy Sessions. I finally picked up Ian Carr's autobiography of Miles Davis, and he had a nice write-up on these sessions. Charlie Parker at his peak, Miles Davis when he was just starting out. The below is one of the first recordings of Davis put to disc. His solo isn't great, but you can see elements of who he would be later in there. I actually have a vinyl edition of the sessions, purchased way back in the day.

Apparently Thelonious Monk was supposed to play keys but never showed up. Dizzie Gillespie 'comped' on piano (filled in, but couldn't solo), but he doesn't appear on the record sleeve because the label didn't want to pay another musician.

Good on you for having the Charlie Parker in your collection already. When I started Carr's book I had to track it down on YouTube. When a mature Davis finally got together with Monk the results were phenomenal. Check out Newport 1955::

 

[rousseau]

Charlie Parker's Savoy Sessions. I finally picked up Ian Carr's autobiography of Miles Davis, and he had a nice write-up on these sessions. Charlie Parker at his peak, Miles Davis when he was just starting out. The below is one of the first recordings of Davis put to disc. His solo isn't great, but you can see elements of who he would be later in there. I actually have a vinyl edition of the sessions, purchased way back in the day.

Apparently Thelonious Monk was supposed to play keys but never showed up. Dizzie Gillespie 'comped' on piano (filled in, but couldn't solo), but he doesn't appear on the record sleeve because the label didn't want to pay another musician.

Good on you for having the Charlie Parker in your collection already. When I started Carr's book I had to track it down on YouTube.

I likely bought it around 2015 when I was reading Ted Gioia's History of Jazz. I was collecting jazz records, and this was the early stage of the resurgence of vinyl. Lots of great records available in the used bin. Now most of the better jazz can only be found new. I likely didn't have a total appreciation of what I was buying, but used stuff priced around $20 CDN usually has significance, which I knew at the time.

When a mature Davis finally got together with Monk the results were phenomenal. Check out Newport 1955::

With Mulligan too, that's definitely a group I've never seen.

What I'm finding interesting about Carr's book is how tightly knit the New York scene was, and how all these great players knew each other. I've never been that into Davis, but it's acting as a pretty good alternate history of jazz so far, at least during that period.

I also picked up The Making of Kind of Blue but haven't opened it yet.

 

[rousseau]

Re-visiting this record with my new system. One thing I found surprising in Carr's book was that Ahmad Jamal was an influence on Davis, via his use of space. But now I can hear it.

It sounds a lot better on a nice set of speakers.

 

[Tharmas]

To confuse things further, from the Wikipedia on the album:

Brilliant Circles - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is a consensus among many collectors that the Black Lion CD edition, which includes one bonus track and an alternate take of the title track, was very poorly mastered (with reduced volume in the right channel, resulting in the virtual inaudibility of Tyrone Washington's woodwinds).

I've taken a look at some copies online, but noticed that the vinyl edition is missing the two tracks you mention. I'm still debating whether to buy a hard copy or let Spotify suffice.

Jeez, I'll have to listen to mine more carefully to hear the difference. Mine is a "Freedom" CD, not Black Lion. I wonder if it's remastered or just a copy of the Black Lion.

Ah, I see Freedom was a division of Black Lion. I'll have a closer listen.

I've listened carefully to all the tracks now, with the exception of "Brilliant Circles take 2." Tyrone Washington's flute is very present on "Bobby's Tune" and the balance overall is fine. I haven't heard any clarinet (Washington's other instrument besides sax) so far. I'll have to listen to the last cut. I have to add that listening so closely to the interactions of each instrument is really a pleasure.

 

[rousseau]

To confuse things further, from the Wikipedia on the album:

Brilliant Circles - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is a consensus among many collectors that the Black Lion CD edition, which includes one bonus track and an alternate take of the title track, was very poorly mastered (with reduced volume in the right channel, resulting in the virtual inaudibility of Tyrone Washington's woodwinds).

I've taken a look at some copies online, but noticed that the vinyl edition is missing the two tracks you mention. I'm still debating whether to buy a hard copy or let Spotify suffice.

Jeez, I'll have to listen to mine more carefully to hear the difference. Mine is a "Freedom" CD, not Black Lion. I wonder if it's remastered or just a copy of the Black Lion.

Ah, I see Freedom was a division of Black Lion. I'll have a closer listen.

I've listened carefully to all the tracks now, with the exception of "Brilliant Circles take 2." Tyrone Washington's flute is very present on "Bobby's Tune" and the balance overall is fine. I haven't heard any clarinet (Washington's other instrument besides sax) so far. I'll have to listen to the last cut. I have to add that listening so closely to the interactions of each instrument is really a pleasure.

I'm hoping my copy gets here soon as I have the coming week off, will be nice to give it a closer listen.

Another comment on Carr's book. One thing I've never thought about much was the extent that a lot of these early jazz greats were just black musicians trying to make a living. Miles Davis got lucky because he was talented, those who managed to play or record with him were also lucky to have the exposure. Many of the big names from the era were people who played with Davis at some point.

From a distance all you see is the fame and glamour, but when you read the whole story a lot of these guys had rough periods, including Davis.

 

[rousseau]

A few pickups yesterday after an extended session at a record shop:

Cannonball Adderley and Eight Giants
Vince Guaraldi - Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
Keith Jarrett - Backhand
Keith Jarrett - Shades
Keith Jarrett - The Survivor's Suite (highly recommend this one for bored retirees)

I'd had my eye out for some Keith Jarrett records for a while, and these didn't disappoint. The last one is a trip.

 

[Tharmas]

Good stuff. I didn't know Shades, so I listened on Spotify and I really like it. It doesn't exist for purchase any more as far as I can tell, which sucks. I'll try The Survivor's Suite on Spotify as well, seeing as how I'm a retired guy, if not that bored. If you by chance don't have it, I can't recommend The Koln Concert enough. I rate it up there with Kind of Blue, seriously, considering how long it's been that I've made sure I possess a copy and how often I listen to it. OTOH, solo piano may not be everyone's cup of tea.
As for Vince Guaraldi, I'm not sure. I have a copy of Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, and I know he sold a lot of albums, but I'm just not sure.
Don't have that Cannonball album. In fact, I only have Something Else. Maybe I need more.
Like I said, good stuff!

 

[rousseau]

The Koln Concert was my gateway into Jarrett. You can't hear a show like that, and not have high expectations for everything else they've done. I went into all three of the above LPs blind (outside of viewing their rating on Allmusic), and had no doubt that they were great albums. The record shop had a few other LPs of his, but I was already buying five records so had to limit it somewhere.

The Adderley album only has a 3 on Allmusic, but I'm a big fan of his so picked it up. It really is a 3 but has it's moments. There was also an old Lester Young album I was interested in, but it was 50 CDN which was a little more than I wanted to pay for it.

The Guaraldi title doesn't really thrill me either, but I like his Charlie Brown soundtrack so much I knew I wanted it in my collection. It's a pleasant listen, if nothing else.

 

[rousseau]

I got my copy of Brilliant Circles in the mail this week. It's a great showcase for my new hifi setup, it literally sounds like a different album now from when I was playing it through a Bluetooth speaker or headphones. I also found a repress of Musa: Ancestral Streams and ordered it, but it just shipped out yesterday.

I'm now going on hiatus from new records and books for a few months, I've spent far more than I should have over the summer.

 

[ideologyhunter]

David 'Fathead' Newman, Fire! Live at the Village Vanguard (Atlantic, reissued on Collectables)
One juicy hour of soul jazz, with Fathead on tenor sax and flute, and wonderful guest spots from Hank Crawford on alto and Stanley Turrentine on tenor. Not a cutting contest; everyone is there to have a blast, and you will too. A great cd for road trips, and still available. The 6 tracks: Old Devil Moon (wonderful)/Chenya (a soulful Fathead original)/Slippin' Down/Wide Open Spaces/Lonely Avenue/Filthy McNasty. There's really not a weak track. Some jazz classics are there to contemplate and savor (Kind of Blue, Giant Steps) and some are there to get the party going (Armstrong and the Hot Five, Very Saxy.) This one will get the party going in style.

 

[rousseau]

David 'Fathead' Newman, Fire! Live at the Village Vanguard (Atlantic, reissued on Collectables)
One juicy hour of soul jazz, with Fathead on tenor sax and flute, and wonderful guest spots from Hank Crawford on alto and Stanley Turrentine on tenor. Not a cutting contest; everyone is there to have a blast, and you will too. A great cd for road trips, and still available. The 6 tracks: Old Devil Moon (wonderful)/Chenya (a soulful Fathead original)/Slippin' Down/Wide Open Spaces/Lonely Avenue/Filthy McNasty. There's really not a weak track. Some jazz classics are there to contemplate and savor (Kind of Blue, Giant Steps) and some are there to get the party going (Armstrong and the Hot Five, Very Saxy.) This one will get the party going in style.

It looks like this record did make it into the Village Vanguard playlist I've been maintaining, six years ago! I'm not sure I've heard it, though.

 

[rousseau]

@Tharmas another thing I just thought of, if you haven't discovered it yet the Reddit Jazz Group is pretty decent, albeit slightly repetitive. The questions are searchable, and with the right queries it's easy to find some good recommendations.

 

[Tharmas]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check it out.

 

[rousseau]

David 'Fathead' Newman, Fire! Live at the Village Vanguard (Atlantic, reissued on Collectables)
One juicy hour of soul jazz, with Fathead on tenor sax and flute, and wonderful guest spots from Hank Crawford on alto and Stanley Turrentine on tenor. Not a cutting contest; everyone is there to have a blast, and you will too. A great cd for road trips, and still available. The 6 tracks: Old Devil Moon (wonderful)/Chenya (a soulful Fathead original)/Slippin' Down/Wide Open Spaces/Lonely Avenue/Filthy McNasty. There's really not a weak track. Some jazz classics are there to contemplate and savor (Kind of Blue, Giant Steps) and some are there to get the party going (Armstrong and the Hot Five, Very Saxy.) This one will get the party going in style.

I'll raise you this show at the Vanguard:



I ran into a copy this weekend and it sounds amazing on my new system. Easily one of the best live records in my collection.

 

[rousseau]

I also went back for the Lester Young album I mentioned earlier:

Lester Young - The Master's Touch

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the Vinyl release of "The Master's Touch" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

The copy I found was released in 1959, the year Young died. For anyone following along Lester Young opened the door for Charlie Parker.

 

[Elixir]

Listening to some jazz fusion guitar backing tracks and practicing to them. It’s challenging my brain and my arthritic hands . But it comes back in gratifying little chunks. I’m recognizing and even predicting the use of non-dominant chords and scales even if couldn’t name them without thinking. There is a phenomenal online community of solo and pro groups producing tremendous volumes of very listenable free and low cost downloadable stuff in every genre. Makes practice fun.